Improvement in trunks



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L. H. WOLFF, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN TRUNKS.

Specification forming'part of Letters Patent No. 56,482, dated July 17, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUDWIG HERMANN WOLFF, of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Cleat for Trunks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side view of my cleat applied to a trunk, which is indicated in red lines. Fig. 2 is a bottom view ot' the cleat. Fig. 3 is an end view ofthe same.

Similar' letters ot' reference indicate corresponding parts in the several iigures.

The object of this invention is to strengthen travelers trunks in such manner that the trunks will sustain less injury in consequence of rough usage than trunks which have hither to been made.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing a trunk-cleat in such manner that it will sustain the bottom and sides of a trunk, and also serve as guards for protecting the corners ot the trunk to which such cleatis applied, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will describe its construction and opera-tion.

The trunk-cleat which I have represented inthe drawings may be made ot' half-round metal. 4It may be made of wrought or cast metal.

The straight portion a should be made exactly equal in length to the length of the trunk for which it is intended, so that the trunk will be sustained at its bottom, corners, and sides by the perpendicular ends b 'b ot' said portion a. These ends b may be made of any suitable length; but for all ordinary purposes the proportions represented in the draw. ings will be found to answer.

The size and strength oi' the cleat will vary with the size and strength required for the trunk to which the cleat is to be applied.

The cleat should be so strong that it will not readily bend or break in handling the trunk, as it is intended that the cleat shall sustain the shocks and concussions to which bearings of small rollers g g h h. The rollers g y at the angles of the cleat should be made larger and stronger than the intermediate supporting-rollers, for the reason that said rollers must receive all the shocks and serve as guards for the corners of the trunks, and by having these rollers at these points they will allow the trunk to glance off from any object upon which it may strike when carelessly thrown down.

Trunks which are made with self-supporting bottoms may not have the intermediate rollers, It h, applied to their cleats. The corner rollers only need be used in this case.

There may be two, three, or more of these cleats applied to the bottom of a trunk, according to the size and capacity oi' the trunk. They may be screwed, nailed, or riveted in place, the nails or rivets passing through the bottom and sides ofthe trunk, so that the perpendicular end pieces, b b, serve as stays and braces for strengthening the trunk.

I am aware that cleats have been made of wood, having mortises through the same for the insertion of rollers and having parts of said cleats brought up around the ends of the trunk, substantially like the cleats proposed by me; but such cleats do not admit of the placing of a roller at the very angle of the trunk, which is the point most necessary to be protected and the point where a strong and substantial roller is most needed. Besides, in the ease of the cleats just referred to there were mortises made entirely through the cleats, which cause a substantial difference from those proposed by me.

I form my cleats of metal, by which means I am enabled to place rollers at the precise point where the cleat forms an angle; and, besides, I can support my rollers by means oi' ears attached to the cleat without making a mortise through it, by which the clea-t is capable ot' being made much stronger and 

